T.F. v. B.L.

Loss

Overview

GLAD represented T.F., a biological mother seeking child support from her former partner, B.F. The two had decided together to have a child, with both agreeing to be parents and raise the child together. The couple broke up before the child was born. GLAD argued that when an individual agrees to bring a child into the world, and the child would not have been born without that agreement, that individual has an obligation to support the child who is born as a result. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on August 25, 2004 that the non-biological partner does not have an obligation to support the child, even though the court acknowledge that she intentionally and purposefully acted to bring the child into the world.